


His Girl Friday

by eveninganna



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Accidental Relationship, Bonding, F/M, First Meetings, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-09
Updated: 2012-04-09
Packaged: 2017-11-03 08:02:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/379157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eveninganna/pseuds/eveninganna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Nico is kicked out of the Underworld, as well as his best friend's apartment, and Sally sees things that a certain son of Hades and Oracle remain oblivious to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	His Girl Friday

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure how I feel about this. All I know is that I stand by Nico and Rachel's mutual love of old films and Sally's seeing everything. The end of the fic is semi based on an entry in the novel _The Lover's Dictionary_ by David Levithan.

Nico di Angelo wasn't wanted anywhere, it appeared.

He really should have known that attempting to stay in the Underworld during Winter was never a good idea, though, so he supposed that was his fault. He'd been through enough Christmas dinners with his father, Persephone, and Demeter to know that that never ended well. The goddess of Spring had just been about to chane him into a dandelion or something of the like when Hades had said, "Just leave, boy, now, for your own sake."

He had taken the message.

His immediate reaction had been to go to Percy and Annabeth's, his default couch-crashing location, but the instant he appeared in the corner of the dark living room, Annabeth was there, a firm grip on the collar of his shirt, dragging him toward the door.

"-- the fuck?" Nico managed as she threw him outside the threshold of the door.

"Sorry, Di Angelo," Annabeth said, not sounding at all sorry. "Percy and I want to be alone tonight. _Alone_."

"Is he gone yet?" Percy called from, undoubtedly, the bedroom. Nico rolled his eyes and Annabeth sighed.

"I'm dealing with it," she called back. "Look," she continued to Nico, "I am sympathetic towards your cause, so I shall tell you this and this only: Sally is always more than happy to put you up for the night." And with that, the door closed in his face.

"Well then," Nico muttered, retreating to the dark end of the hallway and a second later appearing at Sally Blofis's front door. Nico, having mounds of respect for Percy's mother, never simply appeared inside her apartment, although she always made a point of reiterating that he could. Still, he always showed up at the door to her apartment instead, ringing the doorbell politely.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't mind if you just travel into the apartment?" Sally said as she opened the door.

"At least a few more times, of course," Nico said, returning her casual hug somewhat awkwardly. "You know how I can be dense sometimes."

"Just so you know," Sally said, walking down the short hallway towards the living room with him, "I do already have company."

"Oh. Do you want me to --" Nico began.

"No, no, that won't be a problem. It's just Rachel. You know her."

"...Sally, the last time I saw Rachel, I was twelve," Nico said, a tad startled. It had indeed been five years since he had seen, or even really thought, about the Oracle, and considering his not-so-impressive people skills, he wasn't exactly thrilled to have to share Sally's adoring attention with her now -- or, on an even scarier thought, strike up a conversation with her.

"Hm. Well, I'm sure it won't be a problem," she replied nonchalantly, taking his coat from him and hanging it up in the closet despite his protests to do so himself.

Nico headed to the kitchen on Sally's demand that he eat something, eavesdropping on Sally and Rachel's conversation, of which he could easily make out in the small apartment.

"Nico di Angelo?" Rachel's voice.

"You know Nico. You went on the quest with him back when you and Percy first knew each other."

Silence.

"The son of Hades?" Sally prompted.

"Oh, right. Of course."

And Nico had thought his memory was bad.

Sally sighed. "Don't worry about it dear, he's really quite nice."

"'Kay," came Rachel's nonchalant reply.

Nico entered the living room with a microwaved carton of chow mein in his hand, to find the living room dark, the lights dimmed, and a black and white film playing on the modest television. Rachel and Sally sat beside each other on the green couch, and Nico, feeling the odd one out as always, took a seat in the armchair off to the side.

Rachel glanced over at him as he sat, a curious look on her freckled face. She looked him up and down, eyes widening just a fraction, and then turned her attention back to the movie.

Nico turned his attention to the screen as well. It took him only a moment to recognize the film, as well as every actor in it.

"You're watching _His Girl Friday_?" he blurted.

Rachel turned toward him slowly, her movements almost comical. "You know this movie?"

"Um... yes." Nico glanced over at Sally, finding her expression quite odd. She had a soft smile playing at her lips, blue eyes twinkling with a look that seemed to say she knew something he didn't.

Rachel was staring at Nico, an utter look of disbelief written all over her face. Nico shifted uncomfortably. Rachel continued to stare. Sally's smile broadened. Finally, Rachel spoke.

"Who are you again?"

  
**-o-**  


"But yeah, if I'd have to pick my favorite female opposite of Cary Grant it would be Irene Dunne. Katherine Hepburn's great, but he and Irene made more films together anyway and -- wait." Nico paused, looking straight at Rachel from his spot next to her on the couch, where he had moved about thirty minutes in to their conversation. "What were we talking about?"

"Well," Rachel said, crossing her legs beneath herself, "I believe we began in on how it's really a shame that Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant didn't make more films together, and then jumped over to the fact that there are no films made nowadays with the same rapid fire dialog as witnessed in many of the classic movies of Hollywood cinema, such of _His Girl Friday_. From there we went into Cary Grant's massive and impressive repertoire of work, as well as his accompanying leading ladies. The mention of romantic interests delved us into the rumors that he was gay, which we decided to agree were probably not _exclusively_ true, but definitely plausible. After that we jumped back over to the leading ladies, which was followed by a debate on which of his female co-stars had the most charisma with him on the silver screen. You were just making your case for Irene Dunne over my preference of Katherine Hepburn, which is, by the way, total bullshit."

It was Nico's turn to stare. He couldn't be more grateful in that moment that Sally had left the room when he and Rachel had really gotten on a roll, for he was sure that if he saw her knowing smile he'd blush embarrassingly. In that moment, he couldn't help but notice how pretty Rachel was, actually. And he couldn't seem to think anything particularly coherent other than _"holy shit,"_ in that moment.

"That," Nico breathed, "is awesome."


End file.
